Uganda: Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project
Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Q3 2015: New Vocational Training Courses Introduced
December 07, 2015
Naku Charles Lwanga
Summary of Activities
A total of 5,739 school children were supported by RMF/WCF funding for the second term of 2015 in
Nursery, Primary, and Secondary Schools; including Kenyans, South/Sudanese, Rwandan, Burundian,
Ugandan IDPs, and Congolese children/students. New partnership with World’s Children Fund results in more staff and more help in all areas of medical and educational need. Distributions of scholastic materials to all children in the different schools were made. RMF/WCF, local government, and UNHCR equipped the health center with pharmaceuticals this reporting period.
Full Report
Results &
ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Partnership
More Staff
As a result of RMF’s partnership with JICA and the Government of South Sudan new staff was recruited and additional courses were introduced for the vocational training institute.
Graduation
Vocational Training
132 students graduated from the Vocational Training Institute on August 15th, 2015 with skills in such areas as Tailoring, Hairdressing, Carpentry, and Bricklaying.
Community
Helping Hands
With extra medical help the community has become less sick resulting in productive activities especially farming. Many families provide vegetables to supplement the food rations provided by WFP.
Education
Interest & Interviews
The community’s interest in the Vocational Training Institute increases as does the amount of students who apply. 183 applicants were interviewed and 92 were admitted.
HIV/AIDS
Prevention & Guard
Recruitment of new HIV/AIDS staff has boosted the volunteers, counseling, and testing provided in Panyadoli Health Center III. Communities are being sensitized on prevention.
Background
& Objectives
Background
The Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement in Bweyale, Uganda, is a UNHCR managed refugee settlement that provides shelter, land, and support for more than 100,000 people. They are comprised of refugees from Kenya, DR Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan. RMF has partnered with UNHCR in supporting Kiryandango Refugee Settlement, the surrounding community of Bweyale, and the greater Kiryandongo District (an additional 266,197 people) with health care, education, and vocational training since 2008.
Objectives
- To serve as a health care implementation partner with the UNHCR and Ugandan Government
- To provide health care services to over 100,000 refugees and persons in the community via the Panyadoli Health Centres
- To provide skills training for South Sudanese refugees to enable them to become self-reliant
More
Photos
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Numbers
Served
3rd Quarter, 2015
100,000 Patients
- Over 55,000 residents in the Bweyale region
- 41,000 Ugandan IDPs, Bududa survivors, South Sudanese, Congolese and Kenyan refugees
- By end of September 2015 we had 44,505 new arrivals from South Sudan
- Currently receiving 120 new arrivals per day
Success
Stories
International Youth Day
The International Youth Day on 12th August was first designated as International Youth Day by the UN General Assembly in 1999, and serves as an annual celebration of the role of young women and men as essential partners in change, and an opportunity to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth.
The theme of the International Youth Day 2015 was “Youth Civic Engagement”. The celebrations were graced by the presence of the Assistant Commandant of the settlement and other partners in the settlement.
Under the leadership of the Real Medicine Foundation team and other partners like Inter Aid Uganda, a general cleanliness initiative was carried out in the settlement – from the reception centre to health centre III where partners participated from collecting the rubbish to scrubbing floors of the health centre buildings.
The objective of the exercise was for collective responsibility and also creating an integrated approach to improved hygiene and sanitation in the settlement as well as bringing the refugee community to take pride in their home. The outcome was seen in the health centre as most areas were covered in terms of cleanliness and proper disposal of garbage.
The Vocational Training Institute
The Vocational Training Institute continues to offer basic skills to refugees in the settlement as a way of improving their livelihoods. Therefore the objective of empowering all refugees in the settlement with skills is still achievable as this year’s target is not far from being achieved.
In the month of August, the Vocational Institute graduated its second intake of the year 2015 with 132 students registering for the DIT exams and the same number graduating. The dropout rate has gone down.
The function was graced by the country representative of JICA South Sudan, the Undersecretary Ministry of Labor, South Sudan, and the Settlement Commandant plus partner managers within Kiryandongo. The invited guests could see the level of vocational skilling as the Settlement Commandant thanked the Government of South Sudan for showing that love and commitment and JICA at large for extending a big hand to the Kiryandongo refugee community by skilling them through RMF.
The Undersecretary was pleased with RMF’s efforts to see that the refugees receive those skills so that they will be able to earn a living. The function started at 9:00am and ended with the representatives giving out start-up kits to the graduates, and then the guests and the students were served lunch. The day was full of celebration and community.
More Reports on: Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project Archive
Country Page: Uganda
Initiative Page: Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement Project
